OK, I made my own CD of "demo tracks" for CarverFest07 (but I only had two copies--didn't even think of making copies for everyone!), and for CF08 I had every intention of making a "Dreamer Disc" to pass out to people, but "life" sort of got in the way of me producing them. I REALLY appreciated the discs that were handed out at CF08--they were top-notch--in sound quality, tune selection AND packaging design. So I've vowed to make discs for CF09, and I wondered if anyone else was planning to do the same. I'd sort of like to try and coordinate our efforts if others do make CDs, so we don't end up with a lot of duplicate tracks, although with MY wacky musical tastes, I doubt that will be much of a problem...

Anyway, I've started compiling a list of tracks I am considering for my CD, and as soon as get enough tracks to make a whole CD, I'll post the list, and that way folks will know what I'm planning. Hopefully we can all come up with different song lists which reflect our own tastes, and what we think best demo's OUR own rigs. It will be VERY interesting to bring these discs home and play "other peoples music" on our own rigs in their "natural habitat", I think.

What got me thinking of this was my listening list this afternoon. I was sort of on a "Canada, Ireland, and England" trip, and listened to the Pogues, Martha & the Muffins (WOW--I don't remember them sounding THAT good in college!?!), Ewan McColl and A.L. Lloyd, and some strange Renaissance Lute recordings. Although most of the stuff I was listening to was more for my enjoyment that for "critical listening" (the Pogues recording is fun music, but a lousy recording, and the Ewan McColl recording is pretty good, considering it was made in the '50's but not what I'd consider "audiophile" in quality), but there were a few tracks on the M+M compilation that were just outstanding. "Black Stations, White Stations" has a plucky, sliding bass line that is just mind-blowing, and it DEFINITELY going on my CF09 disc. Even if you don't like late '80's "New Wave" music, this track is a good demo track because it can really give your system a "top to bottom" workout...

So, anyway, I just wanted to raise this topic, and give people a "heads up". I think that making "demo CDs" is a REALLY good way for us to sort of get inside each other's heads, because it is a neat way to turn other people on to music they may not be familiar with, AND it lets us all know what sort of stuff we listen to, so they might understand each other's biases and opinions better on "what makes a good system".

So start plowing through your collections, and fire up Toaster or iTunes, or whatever, and start burning those CD's folks! I can't wait to hear what some of you come up with. I know I'm going to have some stuff that NOBODY has heard of before, and it's my goal to put together a CD that has at least one or two tracks that every person who gets one has never heard.

Actually, my '07 CD was a 2-disc set--one of Classical, and one that had rock, jazz, pop, and blues. I'll admit, the Classical one isn't that good--it had a lot of "short" tracks on it, and is sort of dis-jointed. But the "pop" disc is probably the one you're talking about, so I'll make a few extras, and bring some blank CDs so I can make more if needed.